Human Yet Divine

SCRIPTURE
- Matthew 5:10         
"Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   

REFLECTION
- Justin

MUSIC
-Richter Path 19

-Passacaglia

NOTES
-

PRAYER OF LETTING GO
To You do I belong, O God,
into Your hands I surrender my life.
Pour out Your Spirit upon me
that I may love You perfectly,
and serve You faithfully
until my soul rests in You.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:24

Good morning. On this beautiful fall Saturday, let's take a moment to remember the Blessed Mother, who Jesus taught us is our Heavenly Mother. Whatever worries or challenges you are facing, let's ask Mary to intercede for us to her Son, Jesus. Thank you for joining us today, and welcome to prayer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace.

SPEAKER_04 0:59

Blessed are you among women.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

A canticle to Mary. Untie these knots. O Mary, full of grace, my life today is a tangled thread. Knotted with decisions I cannot untangle. With worries wound too tight to name.

SPEAKER_05 1:33

You never demanded the picture be clear before you said yes to the angel. How can this be? You asked. And still you trusted, even without every answer given. Teach me to move forward in the fog, with that same confidence and belief.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Some days confusion feels like failure, as if I should already know the way. But even Joseph needed a dream to guide him. Even the wise men needed a star. Mother, be my star when my own light dims, and give me the trust to surrender it all to you.

SPEAKER_05 2:26

Pull gently at the threads I hand you, the knot of fear, the knot of doubt, the tangled cord of old regret. Your fingers know how to work them free, not by force, but by patient love. The way you raised your son.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

And when a knot comes loose at last, let me notice the small relief. Let joy return in these small moments. Proof that grace is still at work.

SPEAKER_05 3:09

O Mary, untire of knots. Keep working gently at my heart. Where I am tangled, make me free. Where I am lost, lead me home. Pray for me now, Mother of Grace, now, until the hour of my death. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_05 3:42

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 5, verse 10. Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The word of the Lord. Back in college, I took a class on the New Testament. It was actually a really nice change of pace from my math and business-heavy schedule. But I still look back on it fondly because I really learned a lot. Today's reading from the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes reminds me from one lesson in particular in the class. Interestingly enough, both the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew have a narrative around the Beatitudes. However, they seem to focus on different parts of Christ. And those differences start with the location. Matthew's gospel takes place on an elevated place, either a hill or mountain, or Luke's gospel takes place on a plane or flat area. I love this because it shows the two different, the wholly present parts of Christ. We see his divinity in Matthew, up on a high place, close to God and close to his heavenly father. And his humanity on the plain within the Gospel of Luke. Close to his ever-loved creation. He is both fully human and fully divine. And both Gospels are seeking to recognize each part of his being. One of the things I love about our faith is that we see this dichotomy, these two parts of Christ, his humanity and his divinity, in so many places throughout the church. The first is in the Eucharistic prayer. During the offertory, we see the priest or deacon add water to wine, which represents Christ's divinity in the wine and his and our humanity in the water. Later in the Mass, and this is my personal favorite part of the Eucharistic prayer is during the Lamb of God, you'll see the priest take a small piece of the host and drop it into the chalice, thereby reuniting Christ's body and blood right in front of all of us. Another place we see his humanity and his divinity living on is through the chur in the churches in different orders. Being in a Vincentian podcast, I have to call our focus, of course, is incentions. And their focus is on the humanity of Christ, which I believe in a lot of ways is where the care one of the charisms of the Vincenzians lie in finding Christ, in humanity, in the people of our world, particularly in those at the margins of our society. And still, you have other orders that may not necessarily focus on so much service, but more so have a charism towards prayer, like the Benedictins, who focus on that prayer and interacting with the divinity of Christ. So, my friends, as we continue on through this week, I would invite you all to continue growing deeper in that mystery of Christ's humanity and his divinity. May we find him in our daily lives through his divine nature and his human nature as he is fully both. Let us have the grace to better understand these parts of Jesus as we work to grow closer to him in our lives.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, we pray.

SPEAKER_04 8:14

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in our death. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, give us the courage to remain faithful when we face hardship, rejection, or persecution because of our love for you. Help us to remember that your kingdom belongs to those who remain steadfast in righteousness. May we never lose hope when the path is difficult, but trust that you are always with us. Through the example and intercession of the Blessed Mother, strengthen our faith and help us persevere with humility, peace, and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

Amen. To you do I belong, O God. Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your Spirit upon me, that I may love you perfectly and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Thank you for joining us today. Remember, as you go about your day today, no matter what challenges you face, as a child of God, don't let anyone diminish the joy you hold in your heart. Amen. We'll see you tomorrow.